A final “rightsizing” recommendation to be voted on Monday by San Antonio Independent School District trustees calls for 15 school closures and three mergers, leaving 10 vacant buildings next fall, with more to follow. After decades of declining enrollment, having lost some 18,000 students in 20 years, Bexar County’s third-largest public school district has no choice but to shutter some of its 98 campuses, Superintendent Jaime Aquino told the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board on Friday.
But residents pointed out that some would have to cross railroad tracks to get to one of the receiving schools, and district officials were concerned about the effect on the surrounding community. “This is a school that is predominantly serving the neighborhood. We were going to be breaking that down into three different new communities,” Aquino said. Officials also heard concerns about the number of proposed closures on the East Side, where Pershing is situated.